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CHILDREN’S STRATEGIES FOR COPING WITH

ADVERSE HOME ENVIRONMENTS: AN
INTERPRETATION USING ATTACHMENT THEORY

PATRICIA M. CRITTENDEN

Mailman Center for Child Development, University of Miami, Miami, FL

Abstract-The coping strategies of four groups of maltreated children were compared with those of adequately reared
children. The children were videotaped in a brief play session with their mothers, then in the Strange Situation, and
finally during free play while the parent(s) were being interviewed. The coded videotapes of mother-child interaction
yielded four scores for the children: cooperation, compulsive compliance, difficultness, and passivity. The coded
videotapes of the Strange Situation yielded ten patterns of child attachment to the mother. The coded observations of
play during the interview were analyzed in terms of seven child behaviors. The results indicated that abused, and
abused-and-neglected children were difficult or compliant in interaction with their mothers, avoidant under stress,
and aggressive with siblings; neglected children were cooperative in play with the mother, anxious under stress, and
aggressive with siblings; adequately reared children were cooperative with both their mothers and siblings and secure
under stress. Older children who had experienced abuse were less difficult and more compulsively compliant. Both
marginally maltreated and adequately reared 1-year-olds were more difficult than either older or younger children
from those groups but at all ages cooperation was the dominant pattern. The coherencies in the children’s coping
strategies were interpreted in terms of underlying internal representational models of relationships.

Kc.r U’ords-Attachment theory, Coping, Adverse home environment.

WITH THE INCREASING concern over child abuse and neglect has come an interest in the
ways in which children cope with such adverse circumstances. This investigation focused on
four aspects of coping: 1) the relationship between style of coping and the specific type of
adverse condition (Rutter, 198 l), 2) developmental differences in style of coping, 3) the
coherence of style of coping across different situations (Asher, Renshaw, & Hymel, 1982;
MacDonald & Parke, 1984), and 4) the immediate and long-term adaptiveness of alternate
styles of coping (Ainsworth, 1984).

Adverse Environmental Conditions

Child maltreatment includes a number of distinct conditions (Cicchetti & Rizley, 198 1;
Crittenden, 198 1; Deitrich, Starr, & Weisfeld, 1983). Child abuse is defined as the application
of parenting practices that are harsh, punitive, controlling, and rejecting in nature. Child
neglect, on the other hand, is defined as the failure to provide appropriate parenting. Some
parents display both inappropriate parenting and also the failure to provide appropriate care;
their children experience both abuse and neglect. Finally, some parents are generally respon-

Research supported by the National Center on Child Abuse and Neglect, Administration for Children, Youth, and
Families, DHHS Grant #90-CA-844. An earlier version of this paper was presented at the Society for Research in
Child Development, Toronto, April, 1985.
Received for publication July 12, 1990; final revision received May 14, 199 I ; accepted May 14. I99 I.
Requests for reprints may be sent to Patricia M. Crittenden, Department of Pediatrics, University of Miami, P.O. Box
0 I6820 (D-820), Miami, FL 33 IO I.
329
330 Patricia M. Crittenden

sive but display lapses or inconsistencies in care severe enough to cause concern, although
their behavior is only marginally within the range of abuse or neglect. Their children experi-
ence a fourth type of adverse environment. It is possible that the coping stategies employed by
children who experience these environments will vary as a function of the type of environ-
ment experienced.

Development Change
Coping stategies may also vary as a function of development. From a developmental per-
spective, coping stategies would reflect the physical and cognitive skills of the child as well as
the nature of his or her experience. Thus, if the adverse circumstances leading to coping
occurred early in the child’s life, less sophisticated and more reflexive strategies would be
expected than if the circumstances occurred later. Furthermore. as the child developed, it
would be expected that the strategy itself would change to reflect the child’s increasing skills.

Cohewnce ofPuttems
Coping strategies can be thought of as patterns of behavior that typify an individual’s
response to the demands of his or her environment. Studies of stability of personality, how-
ever, indicate that often behavior is stable only across similar situations (Mischel, 1968). This
would seem to limit the concept of coping strategies unless some unifying construct underly-
ing behavioral differences can be found. Attachment theory proposes one such construct:
Internal representational models of the self and others (Bowlby. 1969, 1973, 1980: Brether-
ton, 1985; Crittenden, 1990; Main, Kaplan, & Cassidy, 1985). According to this approach, the
child develops expectations regarding a caregiver’s behavior and his or her own behavior.
These expectations are based on previous experience and function to enable the child to
organize his behavior around the attachment figure’s. The set of expectations regarding the
attachment figure constitute the child’s internal representational model of the other and the
expectations of one’s selfconstitute the model ofthe self. Associated with these models are the
emotions experienced in interactions with the caregiver.
Although such models are hypothesized to underlie consistent patterns of behavior. neither
the model nor the resultant pattern of behavior is assumed to be consciously available to the
individual. Thus, the phrase “coping strategy” is not used in the narrow sense of a cognitive
plan. that is, a response to an articulated problem preceded by a conscious analysis of behav-
ioral alternatives. On the contrary. it is assumed that the behavior of others constantly pres-
ents individuals with problems to be resolved and that most are resolved without conscious
thought. Although this is true for both infants and adults, it is clear that infants are far less
cognitively aware ofthe nature oftheir own information processing than adults. Nevertheless,
when an interpersonal relationship repeatedly poses the same or similar problems, for exam-
ple, how to respond to a mother’s intrusions, and results in the same or a similar response, the
response can be assumed not to be random and will be discussed in this paper in terms of
coping strategies. Similarly, the aspect of the cognitive processing that results in this consis-
tency will be discussed in terms of internal representational models.
An earlier study of the mothers of the children being studied in the present investigation has
suggested that maltreating mothers may have models that vary as a function of the type of
maltreatment that they display (Crittenden. 1985b, 1988a, 1988b). It was proposed that
neglecting mothers’ models embody the notion of the absence of either internal or external
resources. Abusing mothers were thought to have models tied to the idea of coercion and
conflict over scarce material and interpersonal resources. Abusing mothers. however. have
been shown to vary their behavior across situations in ways that might reflect inconsistency in
the underlying model. Specifically, it appeared that abusing mothers behaved aggressively
 Coping strategies 331

when they perceived themselves to be in power and submissively when not. It was proposed
that representational models based on concepts of power and coercion could explain this
behavioral variability. Adequate mothers’ models, on the other hand, were thought to be built
around the motion of the reciprocal exchange of sufficient resources.

Children’s Representational Models and Coping Strategies

The hypothesized maternal models together with the author’s previous studies of mal-
treated children’s patterns of interaction and attachment suggest the nature of the models that
maltreated children might develop. These models are described below for each group. It is
proposed here that the construct of representational models may both explain the develop-
ment of the various coping strategies that children use and also provide a basis for understand-
ing the coherence of behavioral inconsistencies across different situations. Abused children,
like their mothers, are expected to have models based on ideas of power and coercion. Because
children are rarely dominant, it is expected that abused children will develop models of
themselves as incompetent and unworthy with an accompanying affect of anger. Neglected
children are expected to have models tied to the unresponsiveness and apparent helplessness
of their caregivers and the ineffectiveness of their own efforts to elicit care. Their affect is likely
to be one of dispair. Children who are both abused and neglected experience a less consistent
and predictable environnment than either abused or neglected children. Their models are
likely to represent caregivers as hostile, unresponsive, and unpredictable and themselves as
unworthy, ineffective, and vulnerable. Anger and fear are likely to be the predominant emo-
tions. Marginally maltreated children are likely to develop generally positive expectations of
others but to lack the adequately reared child’s sense of self-efficacy. Their predominant
emotions are likely to be frustration and anxiety. On the other hand, adequately reared
children are likely to experience their caregivers as sensitively responsive and themselves as
competent at eliciting their care and worthy of it.
The coping strategies shown by children with the models described above are expected to
vary as a function both of the model and also of the situation. Because power is an important
factor for abused and abused-and-neglected children, it is expected that they will show sub-
missive behavior with a powerful caregiver and more aggressive behavior when in the absence
of a more powerful person. Further, they are not expected to seek help or comfort, when they
are anxious, from the hostile or rejecting attachment figure. Neglected children are expected
to be consistently withdrawn from other people. Marginally maltreated children are expected
to be capable of reciprocal interaction in some low-stress circumstances but to become very
anxious and dependent upon their mothers otherwise. Adequately reared children are ex-
pected to be cooperative in most situations and secure under stress. Thus, it is expected that
behavior which varies across situations, nevertheless, will remain consistent with the child’s
underlying representational model of experience with the attachment figure.

Adaptation
The adaptiveness of these models is an important consideration. An internal representa-
tional model allows a child to organize his experience and his response to it. It is relatively easy
to argue that being able to predict a caregiver’s hostility (and, thus, to inhibit the angry
behavior and affect that may elicit it) protects the abused child from additional violence.
However, this may be both adaptive in the immediate sense and also maladaptive in a mental
health sense (Ainsworth, 1984) because the child is obliged to deny strongly felt emotions.
Equally important are some possible long-term consequences. Because representational mod-
els change the way an individual perceives and interprets future experiences (Bowlby, 1980) it
is possible that the person will not recognize situations that do not require the coping strategy
332 Patricia M. Crittenden

and will not test alternative strategies. This may be especially true if the strategy used involves
inhibition of behavior or feelings. In such cases, the strategy may be maladaptive in the
longterm. On the other hand, neglected children who cope with an unresponsive environment
by withdrawing from other people may not benefit in either the short- or long-term sense. The
issue, then, is one of flexiblity over the longterm, that is, to what extent does any given strategy
permit the individual to change behavior patterns in response to changed circumstances
(Hinde, 1982). Strategies of responding to, or coping with, the different environments charac-
terizing different types of maltreatment may, therefore, be expected to offer different short-
and long-term consequences for the child.

METHOD

Subjects

The subjects were 123 mothers and their 182 children living in central Virginia: the ratio-
nale for including siblings is discussed below. There were five child-rearing groups, consisting
of: 1) 22 abusing mothers and their 25 abused children, 2) 30 abusing-and-neglecting mothers
and their 6 1 children, 3) 19 neglecting mothers and their 25 children, 4) 22 marginally mal-
treating mothers and their 32 children, and 5) 30 adequate mothers and their 39 children. The
abusing, neglecting, and abusing-and-neglecting mothers were receiving mandatory protec-
tive services; the marginally maltreating mothers were offered family services on a voluntary
basis. The abused children had experienced frequent, mild physical harm (e.g., hitting) and,
occasionally, non-life-threatening injuries requiring medical attention. The neglected chil-
dren had experienced unsafe living conditions, inadequate meals, lack of supervision, and
poor medical care as well as verbal and emotional unresponsiveness. The abused-and-ne-
glected children had experienced both harsh and unresponsive treatment. The marginally
maltreated children experienced treatment that was similar to but less severe than that of the
other maltreated children; the substantiated child protection complaints regarding them re-
sulted in voluntary family services being offered to their families. The perpetrator of the abuse
or neglect could not always be identified; however, the chronicity of the maltreatment sug-
gested that any non-perpetrating mothers were at least permitting continued maltreatment of
their children.
Previously published studies drawn from this sample have used only one child per family.
Indeed, the results of three of the nine analyses to be presented here have been published for
such a sample. Siblings are included here because a sample of 123 is insufficient to demon-
strate age trends across 48 months of development in five groups of children. Because mal-
treating samples are very difficult to obtain and because the three observational measures
used are very difficult and time-consuming to code, it was deemed reasonable to use the
available data. Moreover, the only hypothesis that is tied directly to family membership is the
first. Although the analysis of that hypothesis to be presented here is confounded by the use of
siblings, this hypothesis has been tested and supported for the interaction and attachment
assessments both in previous samples (Crittenden, 1981, 1985a) and in the present sample
without siblings (Crittenden, 1985a). The analysis is repeated here with siblings in order to
provide the full set of analyses of the theoretical model being presented.
Six departments of social services and an infant project referred maltreating mothers to the
research. To be eligible, a family had to have one child under 4 years of age; all referrals
received were of low-income families. Referrals to the adequate group came from the Public
Health Department and were selected to match the maltreating group in terms of income. In
each case, a nurse who knew the family well referred the family as adequate (as opposed to
 Coping strategies 333

non-maltreating). All families were offered payment of $90 for participation and all adults
gave informed consent. Of the 130 referrals received by the project, 124 mothers chose to
participate (refusals included one abusing, one neglecting, two marginally maltreating, and
two adequate mothers); one of the 124 families failed to attend the last meeting and, therefore,
lacked data essential to this study.
The children ranged in age from 1 to 48 months (mean = 24 months). There were 93 girls
and 89 boys; 56% of the children were black, 39% were white, and 5% were biracial. There
were no group differences in child age, sex, race, birth complications, or handicapping con-
ditions.
The mothers ranged in age from 15 to 38 years (mean = 24 years). They averaged 10 years
of schooling with a fifth of the mothers being mildly mentally retarded; these two variables
showed significant group differences F(4, 118) = 5.78, p < .OOOand F(2, 16) = 46.26, p < .OOO,
respectively. Neglecting mothers had the least schooling and highest rate of placement in
classes for the educable mentally retarded: adequate and abusing mothers had the most
schooling and lowest rates of retardation.

Procedures
Schedule oj’visits. There were at least four visits to each family within a 2-4 week period by a
clinical psychology graduate research assistant. All but the last visit occurred in the home. On
the first visit the mothers were interviewed regarding their family histories and social network
contacts. On the second visit the children were given a developmental assessment, either the
Bayley Scales of Infant Development or the McCarthy Scales of Children’s Abilities depend-
ing upon the child’s age. On the third visit, each child was videotaped playing first with his or
her mother and then with the interviewer. Each tape was 3 minutes long and unstructured
except that the same small blanket was used to define the area and the same set of toys was
available for each dyad. On the last visit, the family was brought to the laboratory where the
Strange Situation was carried out following which the parent(s) were interviewed while
the child(ren) played freely in the room. The interview, including the children’s play, was
videotaped.

Child development variables. The children’s coping stategies were assessed in three different
situations: 1) At home in a brief(play) interaction session with the mother, 2) in the laboratory
under the stress of a brief separation from the mother, and 3) in free play with the child’s
siblings (if any) during a parent interview.
The children’s style of coping during mother-child interaction was assessed using the
CARE-Index (Crittenden, 1988~). The CARE-Index is the final revision of a coding system
used in previous studies of maltreating dyads (Crittenden, 198 1; 1985a; Crittenden & Bonvil-
lian, 1984). Each child was assessed on seven aspects of interactional behavior: facial expres-
sion, vocal expression, position and body contact, expression of affection, pacing of turns,
control, and choice of activity. For each aspect, there was an item related to passivity, diffi-
cultness, compulsive compliance, and cooperativeness. The codings yielded four child inter-
action scales; the score on each scale equaled the number of difficult, passive, compulsive
compliant, or cooperative items checked. Scores ranged from 0 to 14 with 2 points for each
aspect of behavior; the full 2 points could be allocated to one scale or one point could be
allocated to each of two scales.
Four undergraduate coders, who were blind to the hypothesis being tested and to the
maltreatment group status of the dyads, were trained to at least 85% agreement on a training
set of similar play interaction videotapes. Agreement on the tapes used for data was calculated
as the total number of items checked by either of two coders divided into the number checked
334 Patricia M. Crittenden

by both coders; chance agreement would be expected to be 20%. The four coders had a mean
of 85% agreement on 72 randomly selected mother-child tapes used in this study. The tapes
were coded after being viewed three or more times,
Style of coping under the stress of two brief separations was assessed using the Strange
Situation (Ainsworth, Biehar, Waters, & Wall, 1978). The 40 children who were less than 11
months old when the family was interviewed and who did not have a pa~icipating older
sibling were brought in again at 11 months for the Strange Situation, The Strange Situation
procedure was used for all of the children even though Ainsworth et al. ( 1978) caution that the
brief separations in it might not activate attachment behavior intensely enough for the proce-
dure to be effective for children 2 years of age and older. More current work by Cassidy and
Marvin with the MacArthur Network Attachment Working Group has found the standard
Strange Situation to elicit systematic codable differences in attachment behavior foIlowing
3-minute separations (Cassidy & Marvin, 1989). In the case of the present sample, it was
found that older maltreated children responded to the brief separations with intense anxiety
and exhibited behavior patterns typical of much younger children, a reaction that may be the
result of having experienced much less sensitive as well as more real or threatened major
separations. Other older children (especially those who were adequately reared) did respond
with considerably less anxiety than the younger ones and were often coded as B,. that is,
secure children who did not seek extensive physical contact with the mother. However. not all
ofthe adequately reared children were classified as securely attached. Nor were all the securely
attached children over 2 years old.
Each child’s Strange Situation videotape was scored on the four interactive scales ofproxim-
ity seeking, contact maintaining, resistance, and avoidance (Ainsworth et al., 1978). These
four scales were used to define three major patterns of attachments, that is. secure (B),
anxious/avoidant (A), and anxious/ambivalent (C), and eight subpatterns. In addition, a
fourth pattern, avoidant/ambivalent (A/C), and two subpatterns have been previously identi-
fied by Crittenden ( 1985a, 1985b) as associated with maltreatment. Specifically, infants were
coded avoidant/ambivalent (A/C, or A/C2) when there were moderate to high ratings for
avoidance, resistance. and proximity seeking/contact maintaining. Fu~hermore. like infants
showing the B, subpattern, the infants classified as A/C often displayed inappropriate stereo-
typic behaviors or other signs of disturbance such as head cocking, huddling and rocking on
the floor, and wetting. The distinction between A/C, and A/C, was based on the difference
between active resistance and passitivity as described by Ainsworth et al. (1978). Thus, four
major patterns and ten subpatterns were used to classify the Strange Situation protocols
obtained from this sample.
Undergraduate research assistants were trained to code the tapes in pairs with 90% agree-
ment on the pattern between sets of pairs; 10% agreement would be expected by chance.
Differences in classification were resolved by conference.
Style of coping during free play was assessed during the videotaped play sessions which
occurred during the parent interview. The code consisted of 23 behaviors including 4 solitary
codes, 2 group activity codes, and 17 interactive codes as well as codes for affect and interac-
tant (copies of the coding system may be obtained from the author). The tapes were coded at
20-second intervals; more than one behavior code could be entered per interval. Within each
family, each child was coded by a separate coder. The coders for children in the same family
coded the tape together and were required to reach agreement on interactive codes as they
coded, for example, if child A hit child B, the coder for child A must code “aggress” and the
coder for child B must code “receive aggression.” Segments ofthe tape were reviewed until the
coders could reach agreement. The six undergraduate coders were trained until they reached
85% or better interval by interval agreement before beginning to code the tapes used for data.
Four measures drawn from the free play session were used: I) the proportion of intervals
 Coping strategies 335

Table 1. Means and Standard Deviations of Interaction Variables for Each Childrearing Group
Childrearing Group

Abuse/ Marginal
Variable Abuse Neglect Neglect Maltreatment Adequate

Interaction
Cooperation 4.6 3.3 3.3 6.1 8.1
Compulsive compliance (4.2)
3.8 (3.3)
4.5 (3.8)
1.6 (;I;) (4.6)
I.0
(3.8) (2.2) (1.3)
Difficuhness (:::) 2.3 1.3 (k? 1.5
(2.7) (2.9) (2.3) (2.6)
Passivity 2.9 3.9 7.6 (;:2) 3.5
(2.2) (3.5) (4.7) (4.0) (3.6)
Free Play
Time w/adult 3.2 (73) 0.3 1.7 1.4
(4.5) (0.6) (3.6) (2.3)
Time alone 38.1 38.8 45.8 39. I 34.8
(9.4) (7.9) (11.5) (I 1.6) (11.2)
Sibling play 87.5 80.5 84.8 91.1 85.2
(37.6) (20.9) (36. I) (32.8) (21.7)
Sibling fighting 1.1 2.1 0.7 1.9 1.0
(2.6) (3.8) (1.7) (3.6) (1.8)

spent with an adult, 2) the proportion of intervals spent alone, 3) the proportion of intervals
spent playing peacefully with siblings, and 4) the proportion of intervals spent fighting with
siblings. Only the 142 children who had a sibling (of any age) present during the interview
were included in analysis using these data.

RESULTS

The results will be reported in three clusters. First, those related to differences in adverse
environmental conditions will be presented, followed by a discussion of developmental trends
and the coherence of stategies across situations.

Adverse Enviromental Conditions

A childrearing group was used to differentiate five different types of environments: abusing,
abusing-and-neglecting, neglecting, marginally maltreating, and adequate. Differences in
coping strategies in the environments were tested separately for each of the three observation
situations: interaction at home with the mother, stress in the Strange Situation with the
mother, and free play (with siblings) during the parent interview.
Multivariate analysis of variance was used to test group differences in child cooperation,
compulsive compliance, difficultness, and passivity in the parent-child play interactions. The
overall test was significant [Wilk’s lambda = .63, F( 16,532) = 5.45, p < .OOl] as were three of
the four univariate tests: cooperation [F(4, 177) = 11.37, p < .OOl], compulsive compliance
[F(4, 177) = 10.55, p < .OOl], passivity [F(4, 177) = 6.92, p < .OOl]. Children who were
adequately reared were the most cooperative [F( 1, 177) = 28.87, p < .OOI] and least compul-
sively compliant [F( 1, 177) = 13.95, p < .OO11, children who were abused or abused-and-ne-
glected were the most compliant [F( 1, 177) = 32.58, p < .OOl], and children who were
neglected were the most passive [F( 1, 177) = 26.99, p < .OO11. See Table 1 for Group means.
There was no effect for sex of child, nor a sex by group interaction.
336 Patricia M. Crittenden

Table 2. Child Pattern of Attachment bv Childrearine GrouD

Childrearing Group

Child Pattern Abuse/ Marginal

of Attachment Abuse Neglect Neglect Maltreatment .4dequate

Secure (B)

Anxious/Avoidant (A)

Anxious/Ambivalent (C)

Avoidant/Ambivalent (A/C)

a Column percentage.
Italicized values represent hypothesized relations.

A chi-square test of the association between pattern of attachment and childrearing group
was also significant (x2 (12) = 7 1.5 I, p < .OO1, see Table 2) indicating that adequately reared
children were generally securely attached to their mothers, marginally maltreated children
displayed a mixture of secure and anxious patterns, neglected children generally displayed
anxious/avoidant or avoidant/ambivalent patterns of attachment, and abused and abused-
and-neglected children generally displayed avoidant/ambivalent patterns. There was no effect
for sex of child.
The forty children who did not have a sibling present were not entered into analyses of free
play. Moreover, because the number of children present during the adult interview was ex-
pected to affect the free play measures and be correlated to childrearing group, multivariate
analysis of variance of the free play variables using a childrearing group by number of children
interaction term was employed. The overall test was significant [Wilk’s lambda = .90, F( 16,
407) = 2.58, p < .OOI] as were three of the four univariate tests: time interacting with an adult
[F(4, 136) = 3.3 1, p < .Ol], time alone [F(4, 136) = 2.62. p < .03], and time fighting [F(4, 136)
= 2.99, p < .02]. Abused and abused-and-neglected children spent the most time fighting [F( 1,
136) = 6.28, p < .O11,neglected children the least time with adults [F( 1, 136) = 5.14, p < .02]
and the most time alone [F(4, 133) = 8.28, p < .005], and adequately reared children the least
alone [F( 1, 136) = 3.67, p < .05], and the least time fighting [F( 1, 136) = 7.43, p < .007].

Developmental Change
The association of child chronological age with the four interaction variables using a Pear-
son product moment correlation was significant for all four variables: Cooperation (Y= .3 1, p
< .OOl), compulsive compliance (v = .18, p < .006), difficultness (Y = -.25, p < .OOl), and
passivity (Y= -.32, p < .OO1). An analysis of variance comparing the ages of children showing
the four patterns of attachment was not significant [F(3, 178) = .72, p < .05]. All but one of
the correlations of the free play measures with child chronological age were significant: time
spent with an adult (r = .20, p < .002), time spent alone (r = -.08, p < .05). time spent in
peaceful sibling interaction (Y= .30, p < .OOI), and time spent fighting (Y= .24, p < .OO1). The
patterns of correlation of both the interactive and free play variables, however, were different
for the different maltreatment groups (see Table 3).

Coherence oj’coping Strategies Across Situations

The relation of child strategy of coping in play interaction with the mother-to-child strategy
of coping with the stress of separation from the mother in the Strange Situation was tested
 Coping strategies 337

Table 3. The Correlations of Interaction and Free Play VariablesWith ChildAge

ChildrearingGroup
Abuse/ Marginal
Variable Abuse Neglect Neglect Maltreatment Adequate

Interaction
Cooperation .44** .43** .07 .43** .34**
Compulsive compliance .02 .35** .24 .45** p.11
Difficultness -.29* -.40** .30* -.I5 -.27*
Passivity -.46** -.41** -.32* -.54*** -.19
Free Play
Time w/adult .56** .17 .18 -.11 .13
Time alone -.19 .06 .50** .44** -.41**
Sibling play .64*** ,46*** .63*** .23 .60***
Sibling fighting .23 .20 .21 .45** .27*

* p < .05: **p < .Ol; ***, < ,001.

using multivariate analysis of variance covarying for child chronological age. The overall test
was significant [Wilk’s lambda = .80, F( 12,476) = 3.48, p < .OOI] as were two of the univar-
iate tests. Securely attached children were the most cooperative [F( 1, 180) = 22.77, p < .OOI],
least passive [F( 1, 180) = 11.27, p < .OO11, and, marginally, the least compliant [F( 1, 180)
= 2.93, p < .08].
The relation of child strategy of coping in play interaction with the mother-to-child strategy
of coping with the stress of separation from the mother in the Strange Situation was tested
using multivariate analysis of variance covarying for child chronological age. The overall test
was significant [Wilk’s lambda = .80, F( 12,476) = 3.48, p < .OOl] as were two of the univar-
iate tests. Securely attached children were the most cooperative [F( 1, 180) = 22.77, p < .OO11,
least passive [F( 1, 180) = 11.27, p < .OO11, and, marginally, the least compliant [F( 1, 180)
= 2.93, p < .08].
The relation of child strategy of coping in play interaction with the mother to child strategy
of coping with siblings during the parent interview was tested using four Pearson product
moment correlations. Child cooperation with the mother was positively associated with time
spent playing peacefully with siblings during the interview (Y= .25, p < 0.00 1); there was also a
trend for cooperative children to spend less time alone (Y = . 11, p =C.06). Child compulsive
compliance was positively associated with time spent fighting (v = .24, p < .OOl). Child
difficultness was negatively associated with playing peacefully with siblings (v = -.16, p
< .02). Child passivity was negatively associated with time spent fighting (r = -. 18, p < .006);
there was trend for passive children to spend more time alone than other children (Y= .12, p
< .058).
The relation of child strategy of coping with separation from the mother to child strategy of
coping with siblings was assessed using multivariate analysis of variance covarying for child
chronological age and number of children in the room. The overall test was significant [Wilk’s
lambda = .85, F( 12, 365) = 4.00, p < .03] as were two of the four univariate tests: time spent
withadults [F(3, 141) = 4.00,~ < .009] and time spent playing with siblings [F(3, 141) = 3.41,
p < .02]. Securely attached children spent more time with adults [F( 1, 14 1) = 11.03, p < .OOl]
and more time playing with siblings [F( 1, 141) = 6.39, p < .Ol] than avoidantly attached
children.

Group Discrimination
The consistency of childrearing group differences was explored using two discriminant
analyses. For the first, the dependent variables (i.e., patterns of interaction, quality of attach-
338 Patricia M. Crittenden

Table 4. Discriminant Analvsis Using Five Childrearing Grow Classifications

Predicted Childrearinn Grow

Abuse/ Marginal
Actual Childrearing Group Abuse Neglect Neglect Maltreatment Adequate

Abuse 35% 30% 5% 15% 15%

Abuse and Neglect 6% 63% I I%, 9% I I%
Neglect 6’9 6% 66% 13% 6%
Marginal Maltreatment 17’.? 4% 22% -76% 30%
Adequate 8% 3% 14% 1% 57%

Itaiics indicates hypothesized ceils.

ment, and style of sibling play) were used to discriminate the five childrearing groups. The
disc~minant analysis yielded two significant disc~minant functions: The first disc~minated
adequate from maltreating families [Wilk’s lambda = .39, x2 (40) = 123.99, p < .OOl] and the
second neglectful from involved families [Wilk’s lambda = .67, x2 (27) = 54.08, a -C .OOl].
Overall, 52% of cases were correctly classified with most errors resulting from abusive families
misclassified as abusing-and-neglecting and marginally maltreating families misclassified as
neglecting or adequate. See Table 4.
The second disc~minate analysis used the same variables to identify three childrea~ng
groups: 1) abuse and abuse-and-neglect, 2) neglect, 3) marginal maltreatment and adequate.
Again two discriminant functions were identified. Seventy percent (70%) of the cases were
correctly classified. See Table 5.

DISCUSSION

The results indicated that all three hypotheses were supported; children’s coping stategies
were a function of both type of maltreatment and also child age and were coherent, but not
necessarily the same, across situations and relationships. The data were consistent*with the
notion of internal representational models used to organize both experience and individual’s
response to that experience.

The IZ&Y cfEnvironmentu1 Conditions

Five environments were considered; for each, the results of the three assessment situations
were grouped so that patterns ofcoping could be identified and considered in terms of internal

Table 5. Discriminant Analysis Using Three Childrearing Group Classifications

Predicted Childrearing Group

Group III:
Group I: Marginal
Abuse & Group II: Maltreatment
Actual Childrearing Group Abuse/Neglect Neglect & Adequate

1. Abuse & Abuse/Neglect 70% 9% 21%

II. Neglect 6% 75% 19%
111. Marginal Maltreatment & Adequate 12% 18% 70%

Italics indicates hypothesized cells.

 Copingstrategies 339
representational models. Two caveats should be kept in mind. First, it should be emphasized
that, although the data were being used to suggest developmental trajectories, they were
drawn from a cross-sectional design which cannot fully address change over time.
Second, although group patterns are offered for each of the five childrearing groups, the
abuse and abuse-and-neglect groups were quite similar as were the marginal maltreatment
and adequate groups. Where three-group analyses were used, they were often stronger than
the five-group analyses. Nevertheless, there were real differences between the abuse and
abuse-and-neglect groups and, especially, between the marginal maltreatment and adequate
groups. Moreover, the abuse-and-nelgect group had similarities with the neglect group as did
the marginal maltreatment group. The “mixed” nature of these two groups suggests such
complex patterns of relation. For clinical purposes, the availability of five patterns, combined
with the understanding that no child fits any pattern perfectly, may be sufficiently useful to
justify their presentation here.
Abused children tended to be difficult with their mothers until about 1 and a half years of
age and then to inhibit negative behavior in favor of complaint and cooperative behavior.
This is consistent with observations of nonmaltreated toddlers’ behavior (Maslin & Bates,
1982) as well as clinical observations of inhibition and compliance in older abused children
(Gaensbauer & Harmon, 1982; Lynch & Roberts, 1982; Martin & Beezley, 1980). When
under the stress of separation from the mother, these children were avoidant (A) or avoidant/
ambivalent (A/C). Avoidance has previously been interpreted as a defense against directly
showing anger toward a rejecting mother (Main & Stadman, 198 1). Other investigators con-
firm the preponderence of avoidant patterns among abused children (Egeland & Sroufe, 198 1;
Lamb, Gaensbauer, Malkin, & Schultz, 1985). When in interaction with siblings, abused
children were both aggressive and aggressed upon with the oldest abused children being
involved in the most conflict. This aggressive play may increase the probability of injury by
both siblings (Anonymous, 1978; Herrenkohl & Herrenkohl, 1981) and parents. Older
abused children spent more time with adults than younger children. This reversal of the
normative developmental trend suggests abused childrens’ need to be near parents, to have
parental approval, and/or to care for (i.e., nurture) the parent. The children’s strategies for
coping with the experience of abuse and feelings of fear, anger, and rejection appeared to
consist both of compliance and inhibition when with their mother and also of direct expres-
sion of hostility to their sibilings (when their mothers were occupied with other tasks). As
expected, the children’s behavior could by explained as being a function of their understand-
ing (i.e., internal representational models) of how one gets what one wants (e.g., coercion) and
when one dares to be coercive (e.g., when one is more powerful than one’s opponent).
Abused-and-neglected children were the most compliant and the least cooperative with the
mother; older abused-and-neglected children were less difficult and more compliant than
younger ones. They were both avoidant (A) and avoidant ambivalent (A/C) in the Strange
Situation. In free play with their siblings, they tended to fight more than other children.
Moreover, the amount of aggression increased as the number of children present increased.
Because these families had the most children, this maximized the children’s experience with
violence. Abused-and-neglected children, like abused children, had experience with coercion
and power; they also had unresponsive mothers. Their behavior showed less consistency and
self-control than the abused children’s. This was especially apparent in the Strange Situation
where they were unable to contain their anxiety and anger upon their mother’s return. Repre-
sentational models based on notions of coercion and helplessness with the accompanying
affect of anger and depression are consistent with the strategies employed by abused-and-neg-
lected children.
Neglected children showed consistent behavior across situations: they were the most pas-
sive with their mothers, avoidant (A) or avoidant/ambivalent (helpless) (A/C,) in the Strange
340 Patricia M. Crittenden

Situation, and isolated during the free play. Similar avoidance was identified by Egeland and
Sroufe (198 1) who noted more difficult, noncompliant behavior in neglected toddlers as
compared to neglected infants. The children’s coping strategy seemed to be less of a strategy
than the lack of one; although many could manage to contain their anger, there was no
evidence that they were able to engage other people. Their behavior was consistent with
models of both their own and others’ helplessness. Although these children were not diag-
nosed as depressed, their lack of competence is consistent with such a diagnosis (Cicchetti &
Schneider-Rosen, 1986).
Marginally maltreated children were generally cooperative with their mothers; however,
they were anxious during the Strange Situation and unable to play peacefully with their
siblings. Their behavior with their mothers indicated that they recognized her potential re-
sponsiveness; their behavior in the stress of the Strange Situation suggested that they did not
know when she could be counted upon. They seemed both able to enjoy their mother’s
company under low stress and also disturbed by any signs of her unavailability. With siblings,
they demonstrated the capacity for both peaceful play and open and frequent anger. Their
models seemed to encompass the widest range of environmental circumstances in that these
children seemed to understand both the possibility of mutual responsiveness as well as the
reality of coercion and unresponsiveness.
Adequately reared children displayed a pattern of coping based consistently upon recipro-
cal and cooperative interactions with others; they were cooperative interacting with their
mothers, secure (B) when under the stress of separation from her, and able to engage in
peaceful play with their siblings. Such behavior is consistent with that observed by other
investigators for nonmaltreated. securely attached infants, toddlers, and preschoolers (Erick-
son & Farber, 1983; Gove. Arend, & Sroufe, 1980; Matas, Arend & Sroufe. 1978). Their
behavior led to the inference of models based upon supportive. cooperative interaction.

Both strategies for coping with mothers during interaction and strategies of interacting with
siblings changed as a function of child age. The most dramatic change was the inhibition by
toddlers of angry behavior with unpredictable and abusive mothers and the consequent sub-
stitution of compliant and/or cooperative behavior. Such changes in coping stategies seemed
necessarily tied to the children’s increasing cognitive skills, for example, the ability to form
and use representations and the ability to form expectations. Similarly. the greater aggression
of older abused. abused-and-neglected, and marginally maltreated children with their siblings
reflects both their advanced motor skills and their ability to differentiate the demand charac-
teristics ofdifferent situations. The behavior of adequately reared children showed a tendency
for older children to be more cooperative. Only neglected children showed no greater sophisti-
cation in coping strategies as a function of age. They merely substituted increased difficultness
for lessened passivity. This, in and of itself, may indicate serious problems.

The three strategies of coping (i.e., with the mother in play interaction: with the mother
after a brief separation and in play interaction; with the mother after a brief separation and in
free play with siblings) investigated were, as expected, associated. However, they were not
identical. For instance, abused children were inhibited with their mothers but aggressive with
their siblings. The strongest association was between the strategies for coping with the mother
in play and following a separation from the mother. Behavior was more varied when both the
situation and the interactants were changed. This was in no way surprising and only indicated
 Coping strategies 341

the obvious: factors other than the relationship with the mother also influenced behavior in
other settings.

Adaptation
Although there is no way, from the data presented here, to assess the adaptiveness of the
coping strategies employed by different groups of maltreated and adequately reared children,
it is important to consider the implications of the patterns. Attachment theory suggests that
representational models enhance adaptive behavior in the short term when they facilitate
behavior that promotes the protection of the child. They are adaptive in the long term when
they are open to revision based on new input and encourage behavior which elicits supportive
responses from others (Ainsworth, 1984).
Models that result in coping strategies based on inhibition, that is, compulsive compliance
and avoidance, probably are adaptive in the short term both because they are associated with
more cooperative mother-child interaction and also because they may reduce the number of
angry interchanges leading to abuse. On the other hand, such models imply the dissociation of
affect from behavior and the inhibition of some behavior. Because both of these processes
reduce the child’s opportunity to test expectancies about others’ anger, they may decrease the
likelihood that the child will be able to recognize sensitive and tolerant individuals should
they become available. Thus, the child’s representational models may not be readily open to
revision. In the long term this could be maladaptive.
Marginally maltreated children who experience both sensitivity and insensitivity in the
same person may have the advantage of a varied range of coping strategies (a short-term
advantage) and the disadvantage of finding it difficult to trust even sensitive people (a long-
term disadvantage).
Neglected children who turn away from people altogether may show the most maladaptive
patterns of all. Their behavior neither improves their present situation (as compliant behavior
does for the abused child) nor promotes the possibility of improved coping in the future.
There are several limitations to the interpretations of these results. First, the sample, al-
though apparently large, included only 123 different families and a wide age range of children.
Second, the coherence of the patterns of nonmodal children has not been tested. Third, the
situations and patterns investigated here were tied entirely to social behavior. A full under-
standing of the development of children experiencing different adverse environmental cir-
cumstances would require not only further study of social behavior but also consideration of
other aspects of development. It is possible that the patterns of vulnerability differ in other
spheres of development. Fourth, because the study was not longitudinal, these findings are
best considered as hypotheses to be tested in a longitudinal study. Finally, the inferences made
regarding the presence and nature of internal representational models of relationships cannot
be tested directly.
Nevertheless, these data do suggest both that different types of adverse circumstances have
differential impact on social development and also that coping strategies may be behaviorally
different but conceptually coherent across situations. The concept of internal representational
models provided an explanatory mechanism by which this coherence could be recognized.
The benefits and costs both of the coping strategies and of the underlying models were con-
sidered.

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RBsumb-J-es mecanismes mis en place pour venir a bout des difficultts ont et& analyses dans quatre groupes
d’enfants maltraites et compares a un groupe tleves adequatement. Les enfants ont CtCfilmes au tours d’une breve
seance de jeu avec leur mere, puis au tours dune “Situation Etrange” et finallement au cours dune seance de jeu hbre
pendant I’interrogatoire des parents. Les enregistrements filmes de I’interaction mere-enfant contenaient quatre
scores pour les enfants: Collaboration, docilite compulsive, comportement ditlicile et passivitt. Les enregistrements
codes de la “Situation Etrange” contenaient IO modes d’attachement de I’enfant a la mere. Les observations codees
du jeu au cours de l’interrogatoire ont Cte analydes a I’aide de sept comportements infantiles. Les resultats ont
indique que les enfants maltraites et maltraitts et negliges ttaient difficiles ou dociles dans la relation avec leur mere,
presentant un comportement d’tvitement dans une situation de tension et agressifs a l’egard de la fratrie; les enfants
ntgliges etaient passifs dans les trois situations; les enfants maltraitts marginaux ttaient collaborants dans le jeu avec
leur mere, anxieux dans les situations de tension et agressifs a I’tgard de la fratrie; les enfants Cleves adequatement
Ctaient collaborants avec leur mere et leur fratrie et a l’aise en situation de stress. Les enfants maltraites plus ages
Ctaient moins difficiles et plus dociles. Les enfants maltraites marginaux et les enfants adequatement ClevCsd’un an
Ctaient plus difficiles que les enfants plus ages ou plus jeunes de ces memes groupes, mais la collaboration Ctait le
mode d’interaction le plus frirquemment utilisk pour tous les ages. Les coherences dans les mtcanismes mis en place
par les enfants pour venir a bout de leurs difficuhes ont CtC analyses a la lumiere des modtles sous-jacents de
representation relationelle interne.

Resumen-Se compararon las estrategias de manejo de situaciones en cuatro grupos de nines maltratados con niiios
adecuadamente criados. Se realizaron grabaciones en video de 10s niiios durante una breve sesion de juego con sus
mamas, despues, en una Situacibn Extratia, y tinalmente, cuando jugaban libremente mientras 10s padres eran
entrevistados. Los videos coditicados de la interaccibn madre-hijo arrojaron cuatro puntajes para 10s niilos: Coopera-
cibn, complacencia compulsiva, dificultad y pasividad. Los videos codificados de la Situation Extraiia produjeron
diez patrones de apego del niiio con su madre. Las observaciones codificadas del juego durante la entrevista fueron
analizados en base a siete conductas infantiles. Los resultados indicaron que 10s nifios abusados y 10s que eran
abusados y tambien sufrian neghgencia eran dificiles 6 complacientes en la interaction con sus madres, presentaban
conductas de evitacibn bajo stress, y eran agresivos con 10s hermanos; 10s nifios que sufrian negligencia eran pasivos
en cada una de las tres situaciones; 10s niiios maltratados levemente eran cooperadores con la madre en el juego,
ansiosos bajo stress, y agresivos con 10s hermanos; 10s niiios &ados adecuadamente eran cooperadores tanto con sus
madres coma con sus hermanos y serguros bajo stress. Los niiios que habian sufrido abuso eran menos dificiles y mis
compulsivamente complacientes. Tanto 10s niiios que habian sido levemente maltratados coma 10s que fueron
criados adecuadamente, de un afio de edad, eran mas dificiles que 10s niiios mayores 6 menores de estos grupos; pero
en todas las edades el patron dominante era de cooperacibn. La coherencia en las estrategias de 10s niiios para el
manejo de situaciones fue interpretado coma que representaban modelos de relacibn internalizados.